There are obits to her beloved pet chicken, self-deprecating memes from the 2018 Oscars, and videos of her dog Birdie, but one thing you’ll never see on Jennifer Garner’s Instagram is her kids. And there’s a very good reason why. Garner doesn’t want to exploit her children’s privacy.
At CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Garner told E! that her biggest social media rule is no photos of her three kids, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel. "Well, I would never share my kids," she said in response to what she deems unshareable on social media. "That's a pretty big roadblock right there….I've fought too hard for their privacy personally that it feels weird."
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Garner has literally fought for her own kids and other celebrity children’s privacy. In 2013, Garner, alongside Halle Berry, testified before the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety to push for a bill that would protect kids from the paparazzi. "What we're hoping is that our kids' day-to-day experience will not be of really aggressive men yelling and screaming 5 feet from their faces," Garner told Today, something she said was a weekly occurrence after photogs memorised her kids’ karate schedule.
"My kids take karate for example, and we have our classes at the same time every week,” she told Today. “So the guys know when we have karate, and so 20 of them wait there for us every single class. So that's a lot of energy coming at little, little kids."
Two months after testifying, Senate Bill 606 was passed into law, clarifying the legal definition of harassment and making it easier for parents to sue paps who endanger children.
But, Garner isn’t judging those celebrity parents who do post photos of their kids online, like say the Kim Kardashians or Busy Phillips’ of the world. In fact, she “loves” scrolling through her feed just as much as anyone else and spotting some adorable kiddos. Just not of her own with Ben Affleck, who’s doing fine, by the way.
Garner’s Instagram has become a space where she can let loose and she promises that will continue. In fact, her no kids allowed rule is the “only rule” she abides by on social media and says everything else is “fair game.” So expect more updates on Camping, her upcoming HBO show created by Lena Dunham, and even more episodes of her #PretendCookingShow.